December 29th, 2014 - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hey Everyone!

Merry late Christmas! I had a blast skyping my family last week, and I hope they enjoyed it as well! This week of course is New Year's, which will be a fantastic time to set some goals and review how the previous year has gone. This week was pretty fantastic, especially because of Christmas, but also in other aspects! We had a blast with some sweet visits, a ton of delicious food throughout the week, and some awesome presents given and received.

Sorry the email is going to be short today, but I wanted to start off with a couple thoughts and quotes from the talks in Sacrament meeting yesterday since they were particularly insightful. The first one was a quote from George Q. Cannon that says: "If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. . . . No man ought to say, “Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.” He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lack wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning His Church. He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth. For this purpose He gives these gifts, and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth. " It was a dang good quote, and I particularly liked how he focused upon the fact that we are striving to be perfect - and that it's possible, but only through God and Jesus Christ! Another cool quote was from President Monson where he said, after telling the story of losing some sugar beets: "Paraphrasing the farmer’s commentsconcerning the sugar beets, I say of these souls, precious to our Father and ourMaster: “There’s just as much value in those who have slipped off. Let’s goback and get them!” It was a neat concept to consider the statement that the worth of each soul is great in the sight of God, one just as much as the others.

Alright, so a quick breeze through of some other things that have happened this week. For one, we've still been watching "He is the Gift" with lots of people... I really hope that you've watched it, maybe multiple times, since it's super awesome. If you haven't there is still time - just go check outChristmas.mormon.org and watch the video! Along with that video, we've shared the passage in Ether 12:8-11 with lots of people that says: "8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.
 9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.
 10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were called‍ after the holy order of God.
 11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift‍ of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent‍ way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled."Occasionally after that we would watch "Because of Him" (found oneaster.mormon.org) and focus on the things that are possible because of him.
Well, we've gotta get going, but I hope y'all have a fantastic week! Love y'all!
'Til Next Time,
Elder Jordan Nielson 

December 22nd, 2014 - Christmas is here!

Hey Everyone!

Merry Christmas! It's only a few days away now, so I hope you're ready! I know that here we have a rough plan of what we're going to be doing, part of which involves skyping our families, which will be a blast! We've also got some solid appointments this week, which should be a blast and help keep us busy! Plus, I hear the weather is supposed to be super nice for Christmas here - in the 50's or something like that, which I'm looking forward too :) No white Christmas for me though!

This week has absolutely flown by! It's just been a whirlwind with a mini-transfer for all the people going home, some fun lessons, lots of planning, and a fun exchange with Elder Hoopes here in Edmond. In my studies this week, I spent a good deal of the time studying from Preach my Gospel chapters 6-8, and it was a blast! One quote that stuck out to me was in Chapter 6 when it says: "Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you lookfor opportunities to serve others and give of yourself." It just emphasized to me that in order to develop any attribute, be it faith, charity, patience, etc. you have to work for it and act as though you already have it and eventually it will come. It was definitely something that we put into practice, because for a lot of this week, we've spent time helping out a family in the ward by handing out flyers for a "Cup for a Can cocoa stand" that they did this last Saturday, after being inspired by this fantastic article in the Friend this month: Article! We had a blast handing out the flyers, since there were quite a few people who opened the door, said they weren't interested, and then talked to us for a minute once we told them we were passing out flyers for a food drive. The family said that they had a lot of people come, and filled 3 boxes of food, so it sounded like a worthwhile experience for everyone! We also met a few people who were willing to let us come back, which is something that doesn't happen super often while tracting around here. But, it was definitely a fun experience to see the reactions various people had when we talked to them and gave them the flyers.

Another thing that stuck out to me was how much God works in his work. There were multiple experiences this week, particularly yesterday, where our timing couldn't have been any better - 2 times yesterday we planned to go see someone and our timing ended up that we were walking to/from their door and they pulled up and invited us to come in and visit with them. It was super neat, especially once we started considering all the little things that added up to end up with us being there when they pull up. It reminds me of a quote from Preach my Gospel that I read this morning in chapter 8: "Meaningful goals and careful planning will help you accomplish what the Lord requires of you." The Lord has required that we seek his guidance as we strive to help and serve others and a key part of that is making sure that we do things when He wants us to, not when we want to in order to help the greatest number of His children come closer and return to him. As we watched "He is the Gift" with people this week trying to prepare them for Christmas, we also would watch "Because of Him", the video the church put out around Easter to help emphasize the impact that the Gift of Christ has in our lives, so, here's a couple links, just do it! Gift!Because!

One other quick highlight from this week before I've gotta get a move on, we had a fun visit with Brother Dinges on Friday, and had a great chat about the Priesthood, why it was taken away from the Earth, why it had to be restored, and how we've come to know that it has been. A key part of it is of course covered in the "Restoration" lesson in preach my gospel, but it was fun to be able to bear testimony and take it out of a lesson setting and just make it super personal since he really wanted to know how we knew. It was a pretty fun week overall, and the principle in 1 Nephi 8 verses 11 and 12 which says: "11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."

I hope you have a great week and a very Merry Christmas! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 15th, 2014 - Christmas Celebrations for Days!

Hey Everyone!

This week has been pretty sweet! We got to have our Christmas conference with half the mission, and we also had our ward Christmas party, and people are starting to just really get into the season of Christmas! It's pretty dang sweet, with lots of fun stuff going on, pretty much all the time. Well, there is a mini transfer this week with all the people going home early for school, and with it the sisters area in this ward is being closed. Sister Phelps is going back home and they're sending Sister Curtis over to Sulphur! Elder Kenison and I will be responsible to cover the entire ward, which is a pretty large area with a ton of awesome members, so it should be good. This week has been pretty sweet! In my studies this week I focused a lot on Preach my Gospel, and spent some time in chapters 4 and 5 about the Spirit and the Book of Mormon. There were a few quotes that I'll throw throughout my letter, so just expect them ;) We've had some cool miracles, awesome dinners, a fantastic conference, a cold to get rid of, and just a fantastic time. Sadly, I forgot my notes from Christmas conference, so y'all will have to wait until next week to read about that! 

Of particular note throughout the week were a couple of the things we got to talk about with people. For one, we watched this sweet video! Check it out: Video! It's called "the Reason behind Christmas", and it was super sweet. We also watched "He is the Gift" multiple times this week... so if you've somehow still not seen it do it now! Christmas.mormon.org <- Check it! We got to see Gene this week, a pretty awesome friend that we met a few weeks back and have recently started teaching, we read 1 Nephi 11, which actually has a pretty awesome Christmas story in it about Nephi prophesying about the birth of Christ! I've seen this quote from PMG applied throughout this week: "God loves you and all His children. He is anxious to support you in yourpractical and specific challenges. You have been promised inspiration toknow what to do and have been given the power to do it." Particularly on Wednesday after we were visiting with Gene we weren't entirely sure what to do and ended up feeling like we were supposed to go back to our apartment and finish our studies (since we had cut them short earlier to go to the hope center for service), and it just happened that our ride to the ward Christmas party ended up having to pick us up an hour early to help set up so were were back at our apartment right in time. 

On Thursday was Christmas conference, which I don't have my notes from, but which was super good! This quote from President Hinckley in PMG is super awesome: “If it invites to do good, it is of God. If it inviteth to do evil, it is of the devil. … And if you are doing the right thing and if you are living the right way, you will know in your heart what the Spirit is saying to you. You recognize the promptings of the Spirit by the fruits of the Spirit—that which enlighteneth, that which buildeth up, that which is positive and affirmative and uplifting and leads us to better thoughts and better words and better deeds is of the Spirit of God”

On Friday we did exchanges with the zone leaders after district meeting, so I got to work with Elder Bender again (it's been a long while since the last time!), and we had a blast, seeing a few member families and sharing the gift with them as well as having a blast with a family for dinner. We invited them to watch this fantastic Mormon Message found here: Video! It's called "The Hope of God's Light", it's not super new, but it's super awesome! Then we had a good night out with a Brother Eckman, one of the fantastic members of this incredible ward. 

This week our mission president sent us this cool inspirational scripture chain thing, so I thought I'd share it with y'all! Proverbs 3:27 states, " Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." I Cor 10:24 states, "Let no man seek his own wealth, but every man another's wealth." As I ponder these two scriptures I see that God expects us to do all that we can to help others (seek for their wealth) and that if we have the power to help someone (anyone), we have the obligation to do so. In Mosiah 8:18 Ammon wrote, " Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings." somehow it always seems that God requires more from us than we have the ability to give. I will refer to the scripture from last week in D&C 43:16, "...Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may GIVE..." What a blessing it is to be able to give beyond our own abilities. 

Anyway, that's all I have time for today! Have a great week everyone! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 8th, 2014 - "I'm a Sugar Cube, I'll melt!"

Hey Everyone!

This week, including and especially today, has just been a whirlwind! It's totally flown by, and there's been a ton of things that just pop up and make sure that I stay flexible. It's definitely been an exciting week though, even though I've definitely slacked in the picture taking department so there won't be any of those with this email. 

Anyway, on Tuesday we got to help a part-member family put up their christmas lights, so it was a very good thing that Elder Kenison isn't afraid of heights like me. That took a bit of time, but it was a blast, especially since it was freezing cold and we felt kind of bad since Brother Dinges had hurt his knee in the Turkey Bowl, so we had some good motivation to move fast but be careful. Then we got to go around and share "He is the Gift" with a bunch of people, which was just a blast and a good time. I've probably watched that video at least 20 times since it came out… so if you haven't watched that incredible video yet then I'd highly recommend it! christmas.mormon.org just do it now, since you obviously didn't read my email last week if you didn't watch it… Anyway, so last week from Monday night to Thursday afternoon the sisters didn't have their car - which was part of the reason it was an exciting week, so we ended up getting rides all of the place for those few days. So, a quick quote from my studies this week in Preach my Gospel: "Members who share the gospel experience joy and have the Spirit of the Lord more abundantly. As we share the gospel, we appreciate how precious and meaningful it is to us, and we feel a greater love for God and others. " I loved this quote when I read it this week, as it promised some fantastic blessings for those who do missionary work and share the gospel, and those blessings are definitely given to those who share the gift of Christ and his restored gospel this Christmas seasons! 

On Wednesday, after we helped out at the Hope Center, we got to share "He is the Gift" with more people, and ended up getting fed randomly by a friend of ours who lives down the street from a member family, so that was delicious. Aside from that Wednesday just included a lot of biking and walking trying to find people to share the gift with and invite to learn more. On Thursday we got to go out with a fantastic brother in the ward and caught a couple people that we hadn't seen in weeks, and one that we had never met! It was awesome because we got to share the gift with them even easier since he was able to download it onto his tablet and just whip it out and show them without having to mess with their technology and such. Quick scripture from my studies this week in Alma 36, verses 24-26: "24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors; 26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God." I have definitely seen the things Alma talks about in these verses in my mission, because I know that because of the word of the Lord, there have been changes in my life, and in the lives of people I've met on my mission that have just been absolutely astounding! 

On Friday we had a good district meeting before doing exchanges with the Guthrie South elders, so I was with Elder Hirschi here in Edmond 3rd. The first thing on our agenda was the Hope Center Volunteer christmas party, which had some delicious food and quite a few people there. After that it was raining so we went and grabbed our rain coats before heading out to share the gift and message of the restoration with people and got to have a couple sweet visits with people before an awesome dinner appointment! After dinner we ended up trying to see a bunch of people who weren't home, but ended up feeling like we should knock on a member family's door while we were in a neighborhood and ended up catching them right as they were about to cut the cake for their 3 year old daughter's birthday, so they invited us in and we got to share that memory with them, which was super tasty and pretty awesome - especially since it included watching "He is the Gift" with them! Then we stopped by a less active family that's super awesome… and she ended up being in the middle of making some sort of cookie that was super tasty… so it was a good night ;) 

On Saturday we got to spend some time helping Paul pack up some of his stuff, and then had a great discussion with him after doing the rat trap object lesson! Then he took us to lunch at this place called "Johnny's" that was super tasty, before we went to our appointment that happened to be at the same time as the Bedlam game (OU vs. OSU), which is typically a super hard time to find anything to do here… so we were glad Brother Dinges was willing to record the game and visit with us instead of watching it live :) Then we walked around and shared the gift with a couple other people, including the Miller family where the quote from the title came from, before going to dinner out at Sandy's (she's a recent convert that we eat with regularly), which was super delicious. After dinner the Sisters were planning on watching the Testaments with them, and since they were our ride we started watching as well. Luckily, the member we had asked to come out with us ended up being able to (when earlier he had said it wasn't likely), and so he picked us up and we went out and had a great time. Even though nobody was really home or able to visit with us, he was able to share his conversion story with us, which was super awesome. So, it was a pretty sweet day! 

Sunday was fantastic, with an absolutely awesome fast and testimony meeting with some super awesome quotes/principles/ideas that I wanted to throw down here:

• It's vital to regain your testimony often (see Elder Andersen's talk from Oct 2014)
• We need to give the Savior of our time this weekend more than anything else
• We don't always know, but God is always there for us and we just have to realize it
• When we make a conscious effort to be obedient, God is able to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us
• The Lord's tender mercies might seem meaningless to others, but they often have great personal impact
• Answers to prayer come in the Lord's timing, and often uses other people to fulfill his purposes
• Our spirits can do great things!
• The Lord wants, most of all, for us to sacrifice our sins

In addition to that awesomely spiritual sacrament and fast and testimony meeting, we had a great gospel principles class where we talked about the second coming and ended up just having a good time with some memorable quotes. Then in Elder's Quorum this awesome quote from elder Maxwell was shared:

"The highest challenge we have in mortality is to use our free agency well, making right choices in the interplay of time and talents. Time is one of the blessings we are given. Generally speaking, it is we who let ourselves get fragmented too much. It is the result of not establishing (and then persisting in) certain priorities in our life. I am not denying the reality of the challenge you put, but neither do I think it is unmanageable” (Deposition of a Disciple, 68).
“Does all this mean that in letting go of the world, it will be easy to set priorities? No! It is often harder, for now we choose, not between task A, which is a tainted task, and B, which is good; but now we must allot time and talent between C, which is important and good, and D, which is good and important” (Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, 19).
“Just as the Lord was able to summarize His priorities so succinctly that it is his ‘work and … glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39), so we, too, will need to be able to manage our time and talents in such a way that we, too, know our real priorities and focus on them. When we are settled in our hearts on that which really matters, then our talent and time as well as our treasure will be thus deployed!”(We Will Prove Them Herewith, 66–67).

I loved it, so I thought I'd throw it in here for y'all. After church, we got to go to ward choir, since our ride to church is in the choir, so that was awesome :) Then we got to study before heading to dinner with the Evans, which was a blast. After dinner we headed down to where we were going to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which was just fantastic! If you missed it, check it out here: https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/archive/first-presidencys-christmas-devotional/2014/12?cid=HPSU120714557&lang=eng

I hope you guys have a great week! Love y'all! 

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 1st, 2014 - Christmas Season in Full Swing!

Hey Everyone!

I hope that you've had a fantastic start to your Christmas season, because we definitely have! Of most particular note this week is the "He is the Gift" initiative the Church is putting on that's got this video as a major part of it:

"He Is The Gift"

It's a dang awesome video, so you should click on that link and watch it now. It's only 3 minutes long. So, just do it. Now. Then you can keep reading. 

So, I hope you actually watched the video. Seriously. It's only 3 minutes. If you haven't, go watch it! Either way, I can't really make you watch it... but I'd highly encourage it...

Moving on, Last week for p-day we went to the Cowboy Museum! It was pretty sweet, with a ton of awesome (and super expensive) artwork and historical stuff that was pretty neat to see. I took a ton of pictures (again), and haven't gone through them yet, so you'll just have to sit quietly and wait for when I actually get around to it. Considering I still haven't gotten around to going through the zoo photos it might be awhile yet. Then on Tuesday we got to have dinner with an awesome couple in the ward and had a fantastic visit with them focused on revelation and the Book of Mormon, where we watched the Patterns of light videos from Elder Bednar located here: Video 1 Video 2 Video 3

You don't have to watch those right now unless you really want to... I'd rather that you go watch "He is the Gift" first, but it's up to you. On Wednesday I got to fix another flat tire that I had gotten, and since it was the day before Thanksgiving we got to go to a "Greedy Pilgrim Feast" that a family in the ward was hosting. Pretty much it's just where a ton of people get together and eat pie the day before Thanksgiving, since we all know that on Thanksgiving you're always too full to actually enjoy the pie that you are eating. So, that was a delicious blast, along with getting to see a few people throughout the day and share a Thanksgiving themed message with them, which was pretty fun. I also happened to read Alma 26 today, which was pretty sweet. There was a passage that stood out to me that said, after talking about all the work that they had been doing and how blessed they were to serve the Lord: "Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever.Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

On Thursday for Thanksgiving we got to go to the Turkey Bowl that the ward was having, and it was a blast, aside from the injury or two that occurred (and almost always come with Turkey Bowls), we had a pretty good time. Then we got to help a family rake up some leaves that covered their lawn, which was pretty fun. For our Thanksgiving meal, yes we only had one (thankfully), we got to spend some time with a couple of the families in the ward and eat some incredible food, play a few games while it digested, and then partake in some awesome pie! It was a pretty sweet day, with lots of things to be grateful for throughout the day. 

Friday was awesome. We got to have a zone meeting where we talked about the "He is the Gift" Initiative, and watched the video, that you all should have watched by now, and if you haven't, here is the link again... seriously just watch it. "He Is The Gift" There really isn't any point in not watching it... so you should just do it. But, the meeting was fantastic, and we were highly encouraged to include that as a major part of our missionary work for this month and help others remember the true meaning of Christmas and learn more about Christ's restored Gospel. So, the rest of the day was spent sharing the gift with people while I was on an exchange with Elder Balch here in Edmond. So, you all should totally share the gift - just go share it on your facebook page or twitter or something. On Saturday we had to do our weekly planning, which took a while, plus we had to exchange back, and we had a fantastic dinner appointment, so it was a pretty good day. 

On Sunday we got to go to church, which was a blast. During the 3rd hour they introduced a site that is supposed to help link volunteers with organizations who need volunteer help, called justserve.org it might not be available in your area yet, but it looked like a super awesome deal, so if it is you should totally check it out. Even if it isn't, I think you'd enjoy checking it out periodically in case it does start getting some use in your area. Later that day we got to share the gift with a few people, which was awesome, and also had the chance to give one of our friends who is learning more about the church a blessing since he hurt his knee in the turkey bowl. Then the awesome member we were out with took us to deliver some food that he had collected at his office as part of a drive before Thanksgiving, to a family in need, so that was pretty awesome.

And then we have today... where my notes include things that I've studied over the last week. I've definitely spent a lot of time in Preach my Gospel this last week, and there were a few quotes that stood out to me:

• "The Savior satisfied the demands of justice for those who repent of their sins and endeavor to keep all of His commandments when He stood in our place and suffered the penalty for our sins. This act is called the Atonement. Because of this selfless act, Christ can plead with the Father on our behalf. Heavenly Father can apply mercy, withhold punishment from us, and welcome us into His presence. Our Heavenly Father shows mercy when He forgives us of our sins and helps us return to dwell in His presence. However, Jesus did not eliminate our personal responsibility. He forgives our sins when we accept Him, repent, and obey His commandments." (PMG p. 61)
• "Before baptism we show our willingness to enter a covenant to keep all the commandments for the rest of our lives. After baptism we show our faith by keeping our covenants. We also regularly renew the covenants we make when baptized by partaking of the sacrament. Partaking of the sacrament weekly is a commandment. It helps us remain worthy to have the Spirit with us always. It is a weekly reminder of our covenants." (PMG p.64)
• "Faith in Christ; repentance; making, renewing, and keeping covenants; and being cleansed by the Spirit become a pattern of living. Our actions in daily life are shaped and governed by these principles. Peace and joy come by following this way, and we gradually grow in Christlike attributes." (PMG p. 66)

Well, I've gotta get other things done today, but I hope you guys have a fantastic week and enjoy the video! "He Is The Gift" Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

P.S. If you have read this entire email and didn't watch the video, you must be pretty stubborn... so I applaud you... but please just watch the video! "He Is The Gift"